More than 87,800 residential mortgages were in arrears by the end of January, according to the Department of Finance, down 1.8% (1,658) on the December 2014 figure.
That figure represented 12.7% of all residential mortgages on the books of Ireland’s six main banks, down from 12.9% at the end of last year.
Almost 60,870 of those had been in arrears for 90 days or more by the end of the month, a 2.2% (1,398) fall during the month.
Arrears cases of 90 days or more made up almost 9% of banks’ total residential mortgage book by the end of January.
The Department of Finance said that during the month more than 2,760 permanent mortgage restructures were agreed by banks and home owners.
Arrears capitalisation, where the amount outstanding is added back on to the mortgage, has been used in 29% of all permanent deals – making it the most popular single method of restructure.
Meanwhile, in the buy-to-let market, more than 29,100 accounts remained in arrears by the end of January – representing almost 24% of banks’ total loan book for the sector.
The figure was lower, however, falling 2.7% (821) on the number recorded in December 2014.
The vast majority of these – 81.2% (23,823) – had been in arrears for 90 days or more, though this had also fallen slightly month-on-month.
Around 326 buy-to-let arrears cases had agreed permanent restructuring deals during January, according to the Department of Finance, with a total of 18,629 deals now agreed in the sector.
As with residential cases, arrears capitalisation has been the most commonly-used tool for permanent restructuring deals, while fixed repayments – including interest only and interest rate modifications – is also a regular feature.
